this type of live rock has the nitrifying bacteria painted on with the coralline. when we rehydrate and feed (ammonia) they reanimate rather fast, 2 weeks is about right.
It seems shocking that someone can vector in bacteria from a seemingly dry surface, seemingly
does anyone here remember Chevy Chase in lampoons Christmas vacation, his profession? he made non nutritive food varnishes for cereal so they'd stay crispy longer. that cracked me up while engorging myself on fruity pebbles so crisp and crunchy and like welders glue in a dried out empty cereal bowl.
But they've made a non nutritive desiccation-preventing nitrifier varnish and kudos to them for doing so. considering nitrifiers are so resilient and can hitch rides on anything, there's a massive chance that just standard dry rock in a dry bin even has some on it within a pet store...aerosol associations due to the tanks and evaporation.
They're everywhere, to keep them
out of something or
off of something takes whole industries who study and impart sterilization to surfaces and fluids.
